Now the organisation's current chair Joshua Rothkopf has reached out to MCQueen to apologise for the outburst and insist the board is considering disciplinary action.

The statement reads, "On behalf of the New York Film Critics Circle, I apologise sincerely for the crass bit of heckling Mr. MCQueen encountered. I'm mortified to learn that this was from one of our own members. We are taking disciplinary action."

White has since responded to the heckling reports, telling Indiewire.com, "I was not in a position or vicinity to yell at MCQueen. It was talk among my tablemates."

It is not the first time White has caused a commotion at the industry bash - he has had run-ins with Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky and filmmaker Michael Moore, and has previously heckled stars including Michelle Williams, Annette Bening, Robert De Niro and Viola Davis during their acceptance speeches.